MLB notes: Cabrera takes shot to the face

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera holds out a bloodied hand after a ground ball bounced into his face during a spring training game against the Phillies in Clearwater, Fla., March 19, 2012. (STEVE NESIUS/Reuters)

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Miguel Cabrera suffered a setback Monday in his conversion to third base when a sharply hit ball struck him under the right eye.

The Detroit Tigers slugger left the field bleeding profusely after being hit by Hunter Pence's grounder in the first inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Cabrera was taken for x-rays and required stitches to close a cut.

"Basically he looked like a fighter that needed a cut man and wasn't doing any good in the fight," Tigers manager Jim Leyland told the Detroit Free Press. "It's going to be black and blue, and it's probably going to be swollen shut."

The Tigers were awaiting results of the X-rays to see if there was any further injury.

Leyland said the condition of the field in Clearwater, Fla., was "rough."

Cabrera, who will turn 29 next month, has led the AL in on-base percentage the past two seasons. He hit a career-best .344 in 2011, with 30 home runs and 105 RBI.

This spring, Cabrera has hit .433 with one homer and four RBI in 30 at-bats.

He has shifted to third base from first to make room for free-agent acquisition Prince Fielder.

MOVE OVER, COCO

Cuban star Yoenis Cespedes has won the starting centre fielder's job for the Oakland A's, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday.

Coco Crisp, a solid defensive centre fielder, has been moved to left field.

Manager Bob Melvin said Crisp took the news well. Crisp told the newspaper that he felt "hurt" by the move but would make the best of it.

When Cespedes was signed by the A's, Crisp said "unless he's a demigod come down from the heavens, no one is going to outshine me in centre field."

CLEMENS' PROSECUTORS WANT FRESH START

Prosecutors don't want any mention of the botched first trial when Roger Clemens' second trial begins, according to a court filing made Monday.

Clemens was indicted in 2010 for perjury, making false statements and obstruction over his testimony to Congress in 2008 in which he denied taking steroids and human growth hormones. Prosecutors say they have evidence to the contrary.

Last July, Judge Reggie Walton declared a mistrial because prosecutors showed jurors a video clip that included material that had been banned from the case.

"The new trial is set to begin April 16 with jury selection.

METS OWNERS TO PAY $162M

The New York Mets owners have agreed to pay $162 million to settle a lawsuit by the trustee for victims of Bernard Madoff's fraud.

The deal was announced just before the case was to go to court. The Mets owners were accused of ignoring signs of Madoff's scheme while enriching themselves as long-term investors in his funds -- accusations the team's owners denied.

Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz will make payments over five years, easing some of the pressure on the team's finances.

Madoff, who ran a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, is in prison, having pleaded guilty three years ago.

UTLEY TO SEEK TREATMENT

Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley will take a few days off to see a specialist about his injured right knee.

"Chase's rehab process has come to a bit of a plateau," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Monday in a statement. "He has made some strides but not enough to take the field."

Utley, 33, was limited to 103 games in 2011.

The Phillies already have lost first baseman Ryan Howard until late May as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon last year. Third baseman Placido Polanco injured his left ring finger on Saturday.

SURGERY FOR QUENTIN

San Diego Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin will be sidelined up to six weeks after arthroscopic surgery Monday on his right knee.

Quentin, who was acquired Dec. 31 from the Chicago White Sox for pitchers Simon Castro and Pedro Hernandez, was expected to provide an offensive boost to the Padres. He developed a sore knee during spring training.